Replanting the Christchurch Adventure Park

27 Jul 2018

27 Jul 2018

Reforestation efforts are underway at the Christchurch Adventure Park (CAP), following the February 2017 fires that destroyed over 2,000 hectares of forest and farmland on the Port Hills.CAP has been focusing its fundraising efforts on supporting Te Tapuwae o Rakau Trust to restore areas of native forest on the Port Hills, and on 30 July the Trust will celebrate its first plantings at the Park.

Te Tapuwae o Rakau Trust (The Tree Footprints Trust) was launched in September 2017 to develop and implement a structured approach to replanting trees on the Port Hills.The Trust is working with private landowners, Ngāi Tahu, central and local government, community groups and individuals with a goal of not only coordinating restoration of areas devastated by the fire and earthquakes but, ultimately, to go further by planting new areas with native trees.

Last month CAP kicked off its fundraising drive by hosting the ‘Treemendous Dinner’, a fundraising dinner that raised enough money for the Trust to purchase approximately 1,200 native plants.CAP General Manager Anne Newman says the dinner was well-supported and has encouraged the Park to continue with further fundraising dinners.

“The Treemendous Dinner was a fantastic night for all who attended, but more importantly, it was a great way of raising some money that will translate into native seedlings for some of the fire-affected areas of the Port Hills.We know that there are many more people who would love to support Te Tapuwae o Rakau Trust’s efforts in this way, and for $20 anyone can purchase a seedling that they can either personally plant or simply donate to the Trust.For corporate groups who wish to donate, we are offering the option of a lunch or dinner function that includes a donated tree for every person who attends,” Ms Newman said.

“The Trust estimates that around ten million trees will be needed to reach its replanting goals, so we are talking about a huge effort over many years and requiring the support of a large number of people to get there.It will be awesome to celebrate the first of the plantings going in at the end of this month though, and those first seedlings will represent much hope for what a future Port Hills can look like with the support of this community.”

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